Nine Treasures
by Kyouko Kasodani
Summary: A world of hidden mythology. One of the most prominent legends ever created is finally coming true- and it affects the lives of nine girls in a big way. Nitori Kawashiro and eight other girls must work together to protect their city from the Lunarians. But how will nine vastly different youths cooperate with each other? AU - Arc 1 complete!
1. Arc 1 - Chapter 1

**_Arc 1_**

**_Kappa of the Rivers ~ Illusion Waterfall_**

**_..._**

_To this day, nobody has seen a trace of Yukari Yakumo. Japan eventually moved on to a technological era and forgot about youkai, magic, and gods. Border was the last refuge of humans with youkai blood and actual youkai. The city was very efficient with the strength of the undercover youkai, and the wit of humans. Of course, Border had adopted the mentality of youkai not existing as well, even those with the blood of them..._

_The Lunar Civilization had prospered as well. It is a long time from now that a catastrophe happened in the capital, one that leads to Yukari's ten treasures..._

_..._

Tuesday was cold and rainy.

Rain pounded on the tin roof. Even with the faithful little heater running in the corner of the room, it was still much colder than anyone had anticipated.

The room was nearly empty, except for the heater, a worktable next to the heater, and a bunk bed on the back wall. Well, the bottom bunk was actually a desk, but the top bunk was a bed, with someone sleeping on it.

A girl, no more than perhaps 13 or possibly 14, fitfully slept, sweat dripping down her face and soaking her hair as she clutched at the covers and whimpered as though she was having a nightmare.

"Mmh..."

Nitori mumbled in her sleep as she tossed and turned. Most of her nightmares were about the fire, but this one was different. Armies of rabbits. Rulers, fighting for a throne. An... exile? The only thing Nitori could remember clearly was the face of a silver-haired girl as she was banished to earth.

The dream continued. She saw the expressionless face of a woman wearing violet. Nitori could feel her frustration of being trapped, unable to do anything from her land of dreams. She was waiting for someone to bring her back to her full glory. She looked at Nitori with piercing violet eyes. She opened that pale, thin hand of hers, a gem of the most beautiful shade of blue.

"_Find them..."_

Nitori looked down at the blue gem. It looked strangely familiar. There was something about it that was completely irresistible to her.

_"Find the treasures... it is time, Nitori"_

-and her dream was brought to an abrupt end by the sound of something crashing outside.

Nitori's eyes snapped open. Her concentration on the dream was completely lost, the idea only lingering in the back of her head.

The rain continued to slam onto the roof. Perhaps a tree branch was broken off and fell on her house? It probably wasn't anything else. After all, her house was surrounded by trees of all kinds, and some were very old.

That same irresistible attraction washed over her again. She wasn't going to lie in bed. Whether she liked it or not, Nitori was awake. It was too late to peacefully rest, she had to check before she would settle down.

Almost subconsciously, Nitori threw off the blankets and rose from her bed, sliding down the ladder, paying no heed to the rungs.

This was one of the only dreams where Nitori _hadn't _dreamt about THAT. THAT was painful to think about, and yet she thought about it so much from her constant nightmares, where she would wake up screaming and with sweat dripping down her face.

Alright, she had woken up with sweat dripping down her face, but at least it wasn't screaming. The army of listless rabbits had been at least slightly terrifying.

Nitori grabbed a washcloth from the bathroom rack as she passed by it, wiping her brow. She carefully navigated the maze of half-fixed machines, books, and an absurd amount of nuts and bolts.

The machine room had once been in order, but now, with these constant nightmares and school on top of it, Nitori hadn't quite found time for it yet. Surely, once winter break came around , she would give this place a good dusting, but winter break was still two months away.

Nitori threw open the door and looked down the pathway. The rain soaked the ground, the grass, and the young girl lying in the walkway in a heap of tattered, soaked black cloth and lilac hair.

Nitori had never seen this woman before in her life. The girl was shaking as though she had been punched. It wasn't everyday where someone was knocked out cold on your driveway.

Nitori made her way to the girl, and then froze when she saw the large, fluffy rabbit ears she sported.

_I-it can't be..._

Neverless, Nitori knelt next to the girl and brushed some hair out of her face. She seemed to be partially conscious, as her eyes were barely open, showing a sliver of red that hurt to look at.

Instead, Nitori concentrated on the rabbit ears. They looked like they had buttons on the bottom, which meant they were either fake...

No, her dream couldn't have been real. She also had a black headband. They were fake, but they were very realistic.

Nitori carefully scooped up the girl in her arms. She seemed to whimper for just a second, and her red eyes flickered over to look at Nitori. Her breathing was ragged and shaky, like she was injured.

"Come on, let's get you inside"

She half-dragged, half carried the soaking girl inside, kicking away the machine bits on the floor. Finally, she set her down next to the heater, pushing the worktable away.

A cot would be good. Nitori left her alone for a second to hunt for a cot in the machine room. She could have sworn that it was packed away in a storage bin, but it sat on the table, as though it had magically appeared in a time of need.

Nitori unfolded the cot. It was a deep blue color. She brought it back with her and set it right next to the girl. Mustering all her strength, she lifted her up and set her on the cot.

Next, she would need a blanket. Nitori snatched up a spare from her closet and covered the shaking girl with it, hoping it would warm her up.

The injured girl stared up at Nitori with her red eyes. They seemed to glow a teeny bit, but she couldn't tell for sure, and they flickered all around the room, seemingly searching for something.

"It's okay, you're safe here... do you need anything?"

The girl weakly looked at Nitori, before she shut her eyes. Her breathing began to take on a slower, steady pace. It seemed that she was asleep.

Nitori paused for a moment. Finally, she tucked the mysterious girl in and clambered up into her own bunk. To be fair, she couldn't do much to help her if she was sleeping. She needed to have a talk with her before deciding what action to take, as she had no idea what had even happened.

Nitori curled up in her own covers. She stared at this mystery girl in fascination, the one who had just appeared out of nowhere. Despite all of the questions she wanted to ask, her sleep pulled her back into the world of dreams. For the rest of that Tuesday night, she drifted in empty bliss.


	2. Arc 1 - Chapter 2

_Beep. Beep. Beep._

The alarm clock was the thing that roused Nitori that morning. No random people landing on her porch, no repetitive nightmares, just the simple alarm clock.

Nitori gave it a good smack to shut it up. She rose from her bed. The room was light with the cheery glow of the morning sun, with almost all traces of last night's rain gone, except for the dew on the trees and the occasional puddle.

Below her bunk, there was a sighing noise. Nitori looked down and saw the lilac-haired girl she had brought in last night sleeping on the cot. She had forgotten all about her... she slid down the railing carefully, as to not wake the girl.

She went through her daily routine, brushing her teeth, changing into something that was not pajamas, black leggings with a blue-mini skirt and a rather airy green shirt. She set her favorite green hat on her head as she collected all her textbooks into her satchel.

Grabbing a random piece of paper, she scribbled a note for the girl she'd brought in. She left it on the worktable, an easy place to see it before she grabbed her lunch and headed out the door.

The Youkai Mountain was always gorgeous, and even more so in the autumn. The brilliant shades of crimson, orange and gold decorated the leaves of the trees and no matter where one went, there was always a blue sky and the smell of freshly baked sweet potatoes. The Genbu Marsh was dark and mysterious, yet beautiful, and the mountaintop often had a layer of sparkling white snow. Moriya Shrine stood tall and proud at the very top, nearly impossible to see from the base of the mountain where Nitori lived.

The walk from the mountain base to the actual city was rather short, only a few miles which Nitori could spare. Her walk eventually brought her to the reason as to why she got up so early to go to school.

"Yo, Nitori-chan!"

A person with a white polo shirt and poofy blue shorts waved the mechanic over to a food cart with a pink awning and two tables outside.

Nitori seated herself at the same table with the tomboyish-ly dressed girl and watched her down an entire glass of lemonade before she spoke again.

"How's school goin' for ya?" The girl enthusiastically said.

"Acing mechanics as usual. I'm not doing too hot in history, but today Keine-sensei is teaching something that seems a bit easier to learn"

"Is that so?" Wriggle Nightbug crunched on an ice cube that once kept the long-gone drink cold. "A bit, you say, but doesn't everything seem difficult in her class?"

_How immature of her, just picking the ice cubes out like that. _Nitori cleared the rude thoughts out of her head and smiled. _Well, she is Wriggle. You'd expect her to do something like that, huh?_

A head of light brown hair, donned by a blue bandana, poked out of the little window in the food cart. The face of a young woman, in her college years, grinned back at them. Her clothes were white and brown, except for the aforementioned bandana.

"Hey, Nitori-san!" Mystia Lorelei grinned at the two girls sitting at the table. "How's everything going?"

"Pretty good, Lorelei-san" Nitori shyly waved back, her face hidden under the brim of her favorite hat.

Mystia grinned. "Here! Today's the night of the full moon, and you know what that means with Lorelei Lamprey! It's on the house from me! What'll you order?"

"Two spiced lamprey, and a hot chocolate, please"

Mystia ducked back into the food cart, humming a nostalgic theme from one of the Prismriver's concerts.

"Does she always do that? Serve on the house on the night of the full moon?" Nitori rested her chin on her hand, letting her black locks fall in her face.

"As far as I know" Wriggle took a bite of her last lamprey. "I've been a regular for most of this year, and every time there was a full moon she would do that"

Nitori glanced at the watch on her wrist. The neon green interface glared back the numbers 7:30. "I wonder if people from our school come here to get breakfast"

"There's me" Wriggle snorted. "Then Rumia swings around occasionally, along with Cirno and one of the older students in your class... Marisa, I think? And then there's just your normal people who come around. Your average citizen of Border"

"Am I not an average citizen?"

"Well, you live by yourself on the mountain. I doubt anyone who lives there could be considered 'average...' Wriggle stood up. "Thanks for the meal, Misty! You're the best!"

"I know I am" Mystia chuckled as she waltzed out of the cart, Nitori's breakfast on a plate. She set the plate down with a clink and merrily hummed as she picked up Wriggle's forgotten ones and stepped back in the little food cart.

Nitori bit into a cooked lamprey, the spices making her mouth water and the meat itself tender. Mystia was one of the best cooks she had ever met, and it was still undeniable.

As Nitori polished off the meal, Mystia began humming a different song. Nitori recognized this one- it was called Plain Asia, and the Prismrivers had composed it to honor the aforementioned history teacher of Yakumo High, Keine Kamishirasawa.

"Thank you for the meal, Miss Lorelei" Nitori bowed to the busy food stand chef as she set her dishes on the counter, where Mystia promptly scooped them up.

"Bah, you don't need to call me that. Just call me Misty or Mystia, whatever you want" Mystia dissapered into the little food cart once again while Nitori headed for her destination of the day- Yakumo High.

It was only half a mile from the lamprey stand. The school stood tall and proud, looming above the massive crowd of students, most of which were girls. This could count as either a plus or minus for the few boys that went there.

...

Nitori kept her head down as she was pushed along by the flow of students entering the building. Her main objective right now was to avoid anyone who tried to give her trouble.

Which was, sadly, quite a few students.

"Kyah!"

One outstretched foot was quite enough to trip Nitori. Metal gears and strips of iron spilled from her heavily loaded pockets. She toppled over, quickly scrambling to pick up her fallen books and machine bits and praying that nobody had paid enough attention to her little tumble.

"Aw, does little miss mechanic need some glasses? Don't worry, I've got a pair for you, nearsighted girl"

The poisonous undertone of the voice was quite a good indication for who the bully of the day was. Medicine Melancholy was a troubled child, with a rather venomous personality. She was the head of a clique called the Dolls, and they all had one thing in common. They dressed well, looked nice on the outside, and were nothing but venom on the inside. Her cold, ice-blue eyes glittered as she looked down at Nitori.

"Here, just give me some of your lunch. We're best buddies after all, right?"

Nitori grit her teeth. Medicine had one foot on her lunch box. She'd never get it back now.

Fortunately, Medicine suddenly toppled over as well. Cursing, she looked at her perpertrator.

Koishi Komeiji stood over the duo, a serene smile plastered on her face. Her empty, brilliant green eyes looked 'cheerfully' at Nitori, and then 'scornfully' at Medicine.

Koishi seemed to be exactly what her name was, a little rock. She was never noticed by anyone... until she gave the bullies of the school a good beating. She was impossible to humiliate, impossible to find and beat up. She would have been a legend except for the fact that she was completely unnoticeable. People didn't know where she came from, where she went, almost nothing. She seemed to manipulate their subconscious.

Koishi looked to have taken advantage of the school getting rid of the uniform. Her outfit was a yellow, long-sleeved shirt with diamond shaped buttons and frilly black trim. Her skirt was green and had a faint rose pattern, and her socks, shoes, and sunhat were all black. Around her neck hung a little charm, a blue heart with a red eye in the middle.

"Medicine"

Koishi cheerfully called to the blond-haired Doll Leader. Her silver, green-tinted hair was curly and bounced a teeny bit.

Medicine swallowed. There was nothing holding Koishi back, which meant that a severe beating was to come into play soon.

"Alright. Be that way. But don't interfere with our friendship, Komeiji. I've got an eye on you"

Medicine dissapered into the crowds.

Koishi smiled brightly and helped hoist Nitori off the ground.

"Koishi..."

Nitori tried to find the words to say.

"Thanks. You've been saving kids from bullies ever since you came here"

For just a moment, Nitori saw an emotion cross Koishi's face. Hope.

Then Koishi seemed to melt into the crowd as well, leaving Nitori to be pulled along again by the current of students.

...

History had been 'fun'... Nitori pretty much already knew everything taught, but the teacher was great, admired by the students for her teaching strategies- and 'punishments'.

She bit into the lunch she had prepared- cucumber and hummus sandwich, with a bottle of lemonade and actual cucumbers as a snack. Other kids might have looked at her strangely, but she didn't care- they were probably just idiots.

On the other side of the bench Nitori was seated on, a group of girls chattered as they bit through their own lunches. Nitori recognized Wriggle from the food cart, a girl with dyed blue hair which must have been Cirno, and a tiny blond haired girl who was snacking on a piece of chicken.

"Aye, Cirno, what're we doing after school?" Wriggle asked as she munched on a few dumplings.

"I say we..." Cirno paused for a dramatic effect. She would have done excellently in drama plays, but without that class she had an unfortunate reputation of an all-around idiot. "_...Sneak into the Scarlet Devil Mansion!"_

Wriggle looked at the blue haired girl, dumbfounded. "This is the dumbest idea you've ever had"

"Oh, come on! I heard that the head, Remilia, is a vampire! We'll get to see a real vampire- and _Flandre,_ The Diabolic Wave!"

Wriggle stared. "Who?"

"Oh, come on!" Cirno threw her hands up. "You know, Remilia's little sister, the one so powerful she's always locked up in the basement? They say she's a Centennial Vampire, one of those ultra-powerful ones"

"Oh, come on, now you're making things up- Rumia, what's wrong?" Wriggle hugged the tiny girl with blond hair, who had tears hanging in her eyes.

Rumia pushed Wriggle away and wiped her eyes. "Sorry, guys. It's just we can't go in the mansion"

"Why not?" Cirno pouted. Wriggle glared at the dumb blunette.

"You do not want to meet Flandre" Rumia shuddered.

Cirno opened her mouth, ready to press on, but Wriggle gave her the kind of glare that meant you were about to die. Cirno closed her mouth and sat on the bench.

"Alright. It was a stupid idea anyways" Cirno huffed a bit. Wriggle smiled in return.

Nitori turned her attention away from the three girls and looked past the railing on top of the school that kept them from falling off the roof, where three boys were leaning on the railing and seeing how far they could spit.

The city of Border layed out for her like a chessboard. From here, she could see the glittering Sanzu River, with the Hakurei Bridge crossing over, and the tiny dot of the Hakurei Shrine on the hill. In the closer locations, she could see the Myouren Mansion, and behind it, in the thicker forest, the Kaku Temple. In the little lake that was fed by the Sanzu River, on the ridge stood the aforementioned Scarlet Devil Mansion. Nearby was a different building, the Hakugyokurou, which was also a cherry blossom garden and a training dojo.

Nitori smiled as she looked out from the roof of the school. "I wouldn't live anywhere else..."

* * *

"How does one have an astronomy class" The substitute mumbled, leafing through the teacher's textbook, "When it's not night?"

Kagerou Imaizumi, the teacher of said astronomy class, was mysteriously absent along with the history teacher, Keine Kamishirasawa. Students had tried to figure out why but the only thing that both teachers called in for was being sick. Nitori had merely accepted the excuse as there was a bit of cold going around the town, proven by a few snuffles of affected students.

Next to her, a girl with a head of messy blond hair sat, with part of the golden locks on the left side tied into a braid donned by a little white bow. Her golden eyes flashed as she flipped through the textbook containing details on the planets, solar systems, stars, and other properties of outer space. On her back sat a brown bag, filled with books on magic tricks, bottles of unknown substances, and a pocket telescope.

The college-aged red-haired girl sighed as she called out "Read Pages 45-70, please" while mumbling under her breath "Just because Kagerou is sick doesn't mean she can make me do her chores..."

Nitori curiously glanced at the large red collar, attatched to a cloak that the substitute wore around her neck. Sekibanki had already stated that it was because there was a scar that went all the way around her neck that she didn't want people to stare at, but this statement only made the class more curious.

Marisa, on the other hand, was totally absorbed in her book. She was reading at an unbelievably fast pace, her eyes dashing back and forth across the page as she absorbed the information from the book like a sponge absorbs water.

"Today is the night of the full moon" Nitori stated, trying to get Marisa's attention.

"So it is" Marisa didn't seem like she was listening as she continued to read. She was a very distracted person, often thinking about something else even when people were talking to her. "I'll go to Reimu's and have a moon-viewing party"

"I don't know if that's a good idea" Nitori said.

"What, you still believe those dumb rumors about the madness of the moon?" Marisa snorted. "Besides, if you take a telescope and look at the moon when it's full you can see a city on it"

"Marisa..." Nitori groaned. "You haven't been eating the phantasmal mushrooms again, have you?"

"Well, they're there. Why shouldn't I eat them?" Marisa argued.

Nitori sighed. "Marisa... you'll go mad if you keep eating them"

"Whatever" Marisa turned her attention to the book again.

* * *

Nitori managed to escape school with her spirit and body intact. She burst outside and deeply inhaled, enjoying the smell of freshly baked sweet potato

Her walk brought her to a small river a couple of miles near her house. It was a slow river, one that always generated mist around it, a lovely place to be in the summer. She absentmindedly reached into her pocket and began fidgeting with strips of metal and gears, creating a tinker toy.

She simply stood for a while, letting the cool mist circle around her body. She had lost herself in thought until someone abruptedly tapped her on the shoulder.

"Excuse me"

She'd snuck up on Nitori from behind. The girl was at least a head taller than her. Both her eyes and her hair were dark blue, and she had strange fin-like accessories on her ears. More decorations? She wore a kimono-like dress that was green and blue and reached the ground.

"Sorry to interrupt you, but have you seen any purple-haired teenage girls?"

Nitori paused. Well, of course, one had turned up on her driveway last night. But there was something... fishy about this girl. She didn't want to reveal the truth.

"Uh, no"

The girl seemed disappointed.

"Okay. Whatever"

She drifted away in a huff. The fallen leaves didn't even crunch under her feet.

Nitori thought about the mysterious girl she had rescued once again. She didn't even know who she was, and yet she had let her inside and taken her in like a cousin. Her feet began to walk by themselves, wading through the river and hiking up the hill while she subconsciously pondered equations in the back of her mind.

Before she knew it, she had wandered up to her house. She looked at the little toy in her hands, a half-finished small engine. No wonder she got picked on by other kids.

Cursing herself, she hastily unlocked the door and unceremoniously dumped her backpack on the floor.

The girl she had rescued looked fine. She was still curled up in the blanket, but she was sitting up and reading a book that must have fallen on the floor. She looked up sharply upon Nitori's loud arrival.

"Good afternoon"

Her tone was smooth, hinting that she was uninjured. Nitori analyzed her body. No cuts, no bruises. She was perfectly healed, which was impossible.

"Okay, I'm not a medic, but that is impossible for you to have healed so qu-"

Nitori paused mid-sentence as she looked at the girl's face. Her hair was pulled back, showing two smooth surfaces for where her ears should have been. The black headband was gone as well.

_Wait, then that means-_

Nitori's vision slipped into pitch black before she could catch a glimpse of the white, fluffy, and _real _rabbit ears.


	3. Arc 1 - Chapter 3

When Nitori came to, she was lying facedown on her desk, drooling ever so slightly. She could feel the presence of someone behind her, and the impatient sound of foot tapping woke her up

Nitori blushed and wiped her mouth with her sleeve. She groggily lifted her head up and spun her desk chair around to face the mysterious girl, who was frowning down at her. One of her hands was balled into a fist.

"Please don't pass out on me again. We need to talk."

Her eyes were red. Bright red, almost like an LDC light. They made Nitori sick to look at. Yes, her ears were indeed real, and Nitori suddenly had to resist the urge to grab them. She looked rather annoyed at Nitori.

"Sorry to offend, but what the _hell are you?_"

The girl simply ignored the question and skipped straight into the introduction.

"Name's Reisen. Look, we don't have much time. I'll give you this and explain how to use it, and then we need to go."

"Go where? I demand a proper explanation. My name's Nitori."

Reisen frowned again. She opened her hand and Nitori sucked in a breath.

The thing she was holding was the exact same blue crystal she had seen in her dreams. It was the size of her thumb, shaped like a water droplet and was so well cut and polished that it could have passed for one.

"This is a transformation item. You dropped this."

She handed the gem to Nitori. It felt lighter than a crystal should have been, and almost watery. It also felt strangely warm.

"I assume you've been having dreams about that woman in violet? This will help you free her."

Nitori nodded. She was probably dreaming once again, so she decided to play along.

"This woman... is she good?"

Reisen paused for a moment. Her red eyes flashed. A sudden wave of nausea washed over Nitori, but she held her stomach and tried to wait it out.

"...yes. Me and a few others have been working to unseal her, but opposing forces have been... interfering. That's how I crash-landed on your lawn. I'm surprised you bothered to go through a great deal of trouble to bring me inside."

"I can't leave a... living being half dead out on my lawn when I can do something about it."

The nausea was too much to handle. Nitori sprang up and emptied her lunch into the garbage can.

"Nitori? What's wrong?"

Nitori shivered. She spat out the bile in her mouth. Reisen looked horrified.

"Gods, that was horrible."

"I-I'm sorry. My power is rather unstable sometimes..."

"What power?"

Reisen shuddered. She glanced out the window. It was night outside.

"Look, we don't have any time left. When I tell you to, you need to squeeze the gem and say whatever you think of."

"At least tell me why!"

"Come on!"

Reisen bolted out of the room. The gem was growing uncomfortably hot in Nitori's hands. She pocketed it and shakily stood up, still unsettled from losing her lunch.

"Reisen! Reisen, wait!

...

So as far as she knew, Reisen was a rabbit from the moon, everybody from the moon wanted to invade the earth, and they had to unseal this woman, Yukari Yakumo, as well, to stop the alien invasion.

The aliens- sorry, _Lunarians _ attacked by corrupting Soul Treasures, the physical manifestation of a person's soul and using a magical item from the moon called Lunar Dust to awaken the ancient powers inside a person. Whatever she had been eating recently, Nitori was going to check the ingrediants when she woke up, because this did not sound right at all.

Reisen had talked about this while they were running through the city. It looked so much different at night. Moonlight was barely enough to sufficiently see where they were going. The smell of roasted sweet potatoes was faint, and the autumn winds were silent. It was completely deserted, except for Kagome Park.

Reisen practically leapt over the iron-wrought gate while Nitori was forced to scramble over it. Upon reaching the other side with a few scrapes and bruises, she saw that Reisen was bent over, looking at an object on the ground. Nitori crouched by her side and looked at the thing as well.

A long, red, tattered piece of ribbon. It was nothing out of the ordinary, but it was the kind that Medicine always wore.

"Kyahahaha!"

The blue haired girl from before stood triumphantly on the top of the fountain, a smug grin occupying her face. Nearby, what seemed to be Medicine Melancholy floated in the air, surrounded by clouds of poison. Her clothes had changed into a black top and a red skirt, making her look even more like a doll. In one hand she held a bough of suzuran. Her eyes were milky white, but they shone like moonstones. The centerpiece of the ribbon on her chest was a dark purple crystal.

"So... you've come."

Nitori clenched her fists and glared down the girl on the fountain. Even if Medicine was a jerk, she didn't deserve a fate like possession.

The blue haired girl frowned down at the duo, seemingly disappointed. Her eyes also shone with the same luminosity that Medicine had.

"Wakasagihime!" Reisen pointed her index finger like a pistol at the blunette. "Return the Soul Treasure and the day to us!"

Wakasagihime? Had Reisen sneezed?

"Did you really think asking nicely would work? What a foolish rabbit."

Reisen glanced at Nitori. Her face was worried and sending a message, clear as day. Her eyes were burning with crimson light.

_She's buying time for me, _Nitori suddenly realized. She felt for the blue crystal in her pocket. It was warm to the touch. She pulled it out and realized it was shining.

Wakasagihime's expression became etastic upon seeing the light. "Oh, you brought a Striker with you? Sweet! I'll give you a deal. You can take Medicine and the night back and I'll leave. Just give me the girl. Sound fair?"

A little steam seemed to come out of the rabbit's ears. Without warning, Reisen lunged. She jumped across the battlefield like a kangaroo and did a diving kick straight into Wakasagihime's face, knocking her off the fountain and sending them both sprawling.

Nitori almost choked. Wakasagihime's feet weren't feet at all. A graceful fish tail replaced her legs instead, a pasty blue color. Wakasagihime groaned before rolling around, dodging Reisen's strikes.

Medicine blankly watched the scene before snarling and diving down at Nitori. The clouds around her and her own clothes made her look like a purple fireworks missle.

_NOW! _, her body screamed. Nitori dodged Medicine's initial strike and squeezed the teardrop, pouring her power into the little gem.

"Border Treasure, cross the boundary!"

Nitori shouted these words without even thinking. Something inside of her burst. A huge, burning multicolored pillar of light enveloped her body and pushed back Medicine several yards. Reisen and Wakasagihime, who were wrestling on the ground, looked over to the source of light.

Inside the pillar of light, Nitori felt her school uniform fall away, but it was instantly replaced with a glowing blue summer dress. Her hair lightened, shifting from black to blue. In front of her, the brilliant crystal floated midair. She cupped her hands around it and it exploded with light.

She could see the dress shift and change into a white, swimsuit like top with a blue skirt cut down the middle and a white underskirt. Poofy blue sleeves covered her shoulders and two rather mechanical looking blue wristlets decorated her wrists. She had gained a new set of blue Wellington boots along with the outfit, as well as a billowing green cape.

The centerpiece of the outfit was her old gold key, but where the hole once was, the crystal now sat. It fit perfectly.

"The trauma in the glittering depths! Marine Benefit!"

The pillar dissapered. Nitori held up her fists like she was ready for a fight, but she was burning with questions on the inside. Her face burned with embarrasement but she managed to keep a cool mind.

"Reisen" She yelled, "You are going to explain everything when I get home"

Reisen yelled something back, but Nitori couldn't quite hear her from so far away.

Medicine shakily stood up from the ground. She spoke in a hollow voice as her blank eyes bore into Nitori.

_"They don't understand me..."_

"Medicine..."

Nitori thrust down her fists and the wristlets shifted, suddenly covering her hands and most of her forearms. Two barrels extended, fully loaded, and her hands burned with energy. The only way to help Medicine would to be to defeat this shadowy copy and then improvise. With Wakasagihime distracted by Reisen, surely she could save the leader of Dolls and return the day.

Nitori didn't know how she was doing any of this, or whether this was possible. But she felt like she was burning with power. She _was _power.

"Cephalic Plates, bind the border!"

The gauntlets hummed with energy.

Medicine rushed across the battlefield, her gossamer wings lifting her off the ground just slightly. Nitori blinked before thrusting her fist into a punch. Instead of a standard bullet, glowing blue ones shot out of the gauntlets and struck Medicine in the chest, releasing a burst of glowing blue spheres which were flung in all directions.

Not one to waste momentum, Nitori followed up with another series of strikes propelled by the momentum of her blasts. Glowing orbs filled the air as Nitori continued to strike Medicine one blast after the other. She paused for one second before delivering the final blow.

"Marine Strike!"

Nitori gave it her all with this blow. She lunged at Medicine and punched her in the chest while the glowing blue orbs simutaniously homed in on the doll leader.

The resulting explosion was quite satisfying. Nitori slumped to the ground, quite exhausted from the energy release. Her arms suddenly ached, which shouldn't happen in dreams...

She was not expecting Medicine to rise once again. The doll smirked and waved her bough of suzuran, and the surrounding area was clouded in poisonous purple mist. Nitori could barely see through the neurotoxin.

_"I must be the strongest... the leader of dolls. Humans don't know a thing"_

Medicine outstretched her hand. Nitori was beginning to see purple cloud her view, and her throat was clogging with poison, just like when-

_!_

Nitori tried to force the memory back down. She didn't want it to come back up, for this dream to turn into a nightmare again. She needed to focus on fighting, but her vision was hazy. Her body felt sluggish as it coursed with poison in its veins.

Something jumped in front of her face and Nitori shielded herself with her arms, although it was rather sluggish. She opened one eye cautiously and immediately thanked the gods.

Reisen, her red eyes burning with anger and her fingertips humming, glared at Medicine. The doll looked rather stunned upon the rabbit's arrival.

"Who are you?" Wakasagihime weakly spat.

"Reisen Udongein Inaba... the Inaba of the Moon"

She pointed her fingers like a pistol, the air charging with energy.

"The Inaba speak with one voice on this subject", she continued, "And we agree that nobody harms the youkai of Gensokyo, past, present, and future"

Her tone meant no business. It sounded alien on her. She looked so different from the fragile girl Nitori had found on her sidewalk the other day. Now, she looked confident and determined. She was the one saving Nitori now.

Medicine chuckled and reached out with the mist. The cloud of poison slowly reached towards the dazed Nitori. She was playing with her, even though she was hurt to, with several rips on her shirt and smoking pieces of cloth.

_"Humans... they will all die, and I will rule with the dolls. The world will be perfect"_

Reisen growled and blasted her off her feet with her amazing fistol.

All that anyone could see was a burning pair of red eyes hovering in darkness. Nitori and Medicine cowered and tried to cover themselves as Reisen dashed around, firing bullets from her fistol like a madman.

She snapped her fingers.

"Lunatic Red Eyes"

A rushing sound filled the air and all of the bullets immediately struck Medicine, creating another satisfying explosion. The doll slumped and was finally knocked out for good.

"Kyah!"

Wakasagihime moaned as she pushed herself up from the dirt. She angrily glared at the duo of rabbit and human.

"Marine Benefit... you've earned yourself a death wish. I'll meet you next full moon"

Wakasagihime dissipated into mist. The cloud seemed to spiral into the heavens and strike the moon, breaking the eternal night.

Light suddenly overtook the land again. The friendly sun shone down on the town of Border. Citizens came out of their houses and thanked the gods. Nitori smiled, estatic that the sun had returned once again. She retracted her gauntlets and stretched her hands out.

"Quickly" Reisen innotiated. "We must leave before people begin to poke around here"

The purple crystal which had once been the evil Medicine floated down from the sky. Encased inside it was a bough of suzuran, much like the one she had wielded in battle. It hovered just above Nitori's fingertips.

"Reisen... what does this mean?"

Reisen warily looked at the crystal. She brought her face close and squinted at the suzuran rod.

"This means she'll be able to control poison no matter what now. The Lunar Dust has taken permanent effect. Nitori, are you sure you want to revive this girl?"

Nitori put on her bravest face.

"Yes, I do. Every person has a chance to live, no matter how small. And every time, I would let them live, no matter the cost"

Nitori took the crystal and marched over to Medicine's unconscious body. Gently, she tapped the crystal on Medicine's chest, and both crystal and girl began to glow.

...

Medicine Melancholy could not recall where she had been in the past hour. She had left school, and everything from then was fuzzy. She tried her hardest but her recent memories just slipped out of her grasp. It was like someone had took a large eraser to her memory. No matter how hard, she couldn't remember anything.

"Hello?"

Medicine warily opened one eye. A blond-haired child, much like herself, was looming over her, blocking out the sun in a very climatic but cliché way.

"Hey? ... Oh, you're awake"

"Who?"

Medicine struggled up. She was lying in a field of grass, right inside Kagome Park. The autumn leaves were scattered around the edge of the park, littering the ground in shades of red and yellow. A couple of younger children were playing on the large playstructure, and two young girls, a black haired girl with a flower stuck on her hair and a redhead with her hair done up in pigtails, complete with bells, shared a snack of yakitori together. The sun was setting and cast the whole park in a gold color.

"I... uh... found you in the grass here. Are you hurt?"

"... I guess I fell asleep"

The other blond sighed. Now Medicine could see her better. She wore the school uniform, and looked vaguely familiar, especially with that red hairband. Those kaleidoscopic eyes, that blond hair, the blue-clad doll she clutched in one hand...

Memory suddenly hit Medicine _hard. _This was Alice Margatroid, her formerly best friend, before Medicine became the leader of the dolls. Alice had been a great friend... until Medicine ditched her for power. She'd left her in the shadows, and betrayed her in a horrible way.

Medicine burst into tears. She buried her face on Alice's chest, clutching her sleeves and crying for forgiveness.

"M-medicine?"

Alice seemed taken aback. She dropped Shanghai and hugged her friend's head, stroking her curly blond hair.

"Alice... for the past years, I've treated you like a toy to power"

"Shh... it's okay, Medicine"

"It's not okay!"

Medicine clenched her fists. She locked her light blue eyes on Alice's kaleidoscopic ones.

"I abandon you. Sure, I rose to power, but now what? I've got no friends left, no reputation worth saving, and I can't support myself. I'm as good as nothing"

"That's not true!"

Medicine's head snapped back up.

"Sure, you can be mean sometimes. Some people can only see the poison in your heart. But behind all that poison that surrounds you, there is an adventurous, understanding, kind, and generous person inside. Your true self is the greatest friend anyone could ask for. To say that you're worthless... That's enough!"

While Alice made her glorious speech, less tears dripped from Medicine's face. Now, her eyes were filled with a new light- the light of hope.

"A-are you sure?"

Alice nodded, smirking. She picked up Shanghai and placed her in her school satchel.

"Of course. Now, come on, a little food should cheer you up. Mystia's is quite popular today, you can start making more friends there"

The two reunited friends walked, hand-in-hand to wherever their adventures would lie. Mystia's lamprey stand, and then Alice's house, and then they would improvise from there.

Because improvising is what Medicine did best.

Standing in the woods surrounding the park, Nitori held her golden key to her chest while watching the two friends walk away. The treasure sat, warmly humming in her pocket. Reisen stood behind her, looking quite upset with the scene.

"See? I told you things would turn out right" Nitori told to Reisen.

Reisen muttered something in another language, an archaic version of Japanese. Nitori couldn't really understand exactly what she was saying before Reisen brightened up.

"Nitori, let's head home"

"Alright"


	4. Arc 1 - Chapter 4

"Kyah!"

Nitori stumbled, head-over-heels, dropping all her books on the floor... again. She scrabbled to scoop up the bits of metal and stray papers that had drifted down the hall. Nitori kept her head down; hoping to get going before someone once again took advantage of the situation.

"Hey!"

A voice shouted behind her. Medicine Melancholy. Nitori whipped around, ready for a fight.

However, Medicine was not facing her way. She was staring down an older boy who looked quite stunned at the outburst. All the makeup was gone from her face, revealing her bright-red cheeks and cold blue eyes. Behind her stood one of the upper classmen, looking rather surprised at the outburst as well.

"What did she do to you?"

"Weren't you the same girl who went after her yesterday?" Someone in the crowd called out.

"Those days are over"

There were collective gasps and murmurs along the hallway. Students began pausing to stare at the former leader of dolls.

"I'm not going to give people crap anymore. And I won't let anyone else do it either!"

Medicine put up her fists, ready to fight at whatever cost. Even if she was scared to death on the inside, she could maybe scare the boy out of a fight. He already did look a little blue in the face. He nervously coughed once.

Her fists were seeping faint purple mist. It was making the boy in front of her cough.

"Well- I must be going"

The boy hurried out, ducking his head before the poison really got to him. Students picked up the pace, dashing into their respective classes, complaining about the mist and soon there was no crowd left lingering in the halls.

"Medicine, that was amazing!"

Alice stared in wonder at her friend while Medicine looked at her hands in amazement. Nitori stood up, having collected all her belongings and poked her head over Medicine's shoulder.

"You scared him off! Without a fight, too! Although, I must ask, what was the purple stuff?"

"To be honest... I don't know"

The two girls disappeared into the crowds while chatting with each other. Nitori had gathered up everything and had also jumped into the flow of students, while processing the turn of events.

_Medicine-san being so kind... Maybe the dream wasn't a dream?_

_Wait, if it wasn't a dream, then-_

Nitori stopped dead in her tracks.

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEH?"

Silence. Everyone awkwardly turned to look at Nitori, who blushed profoundly and dashed to class. Her new wheels on the bottom of her soles assisted with her haste.

* * *

Nitori walked out of the school doors in a daze, shoving past students who momentarily glared at her before going back to their own agendas.

Marine Benefit... it wasn't a dream at all. She reached inside her pocket, where, among the gears and bolts, a perfect crystal steadily hummed with an unknown power.

The autumn wind sent a chill through her heart. Far away, she could hear the two sisters that ran the sweet potato stand arguing, though their words were whipped away by the wind. Leaves blew by her face in all sorts of colors.

What would her life be now? She had enemies to look out for, people to take care of. And most importantly...

A planet to be protected.

She glanced down at her shoes. Almost automatically, the wheels lowered themselves and she began half-running, half-skating at a speed that would make even the fastest track member jealous.

The cityscape sped by her. She balanced precariously as she narrowly skated around street corners, dodging the people she passed with precision. Minutes later, she was already headed up the mountain road and was soon directly in front of the great Iron Gate that concealed her house from prying eyes.

Once inside, she made a run for the door and practically blasted it open. There was a half-eaten carrot and a note remaining on the coffee table.

_Dear Nitori (or Marine, both names work)_

_I have gone back to my home at Eientei. To reach Eientei, all you have to do is follow the river. At a wooden dock, one of our friends will be waiting. It should be easy to recognize her, with that pigtailed, blond hair of hers. I swear that I'll explain everything when you get there, but I had to get home._

_-Reisen Udongein Inaba _

Nitori snapped a little inside. Was Reisen trying to stall her as long as possible? She desperately wanted answers, but the lunar lepus was keeping them just out of reach.

Never less, she flung herself into the closet to search for something other than a school uniform. Moment later, she returned with a green top, a blue jacket covered with many pockets, and blue cargo pants weighed down with bits of metal.

Reaching into the fridge, she mindlessly snagged some cucumbers out and shoved them into her pockets, before reaching into the uniform she had so carefully hung on the rack to reach the little jewel.

"Ah, here's the thing"

She studied it carefully. It seemed to be made of a substance she'd never seen. It glittered like water and was warm to the touch. Perhaps she should see one of the chemistry professors and discuss on what it might be.

She scowled, pocketing the gem. Of course, then she would either play dumb or let them in on the secret. It would be better to keep it hidden.

She ducked into the machine shop area once again. She could hardly call it a 'shop', seeing how small and disorderly it was at the current moment, but many a customer, whether it be a mysterious visitor she may never see again, Sanae looking for something to purchase, or just an ordinary person, had come and bought something.

The money she received was enough- with the machine shop purchases, and her parent's inheritance, she wouldn't need to worry about financial problems for a long time, as long as she continued spending her money on only what she needed.

The thing she was looking for was a long canoe. She had never used it, but to get to her destination quicker, she now found a thing to use it for.

* * *

Canoeing down the river is easier said than done. It took nearly a quarter of an hour for Nitori to actually get the canoe down to the river, and then figure out how to use it.

After finally giving up and hopping in, it was actually much easier. It was almost a naturally born instinct within her. The river was slow and easy to navigate.

Paddling with one hand, Nitori used her free one to munch on a cucumber. The vegetable was bitter and flavorful. The river gave her a sense of ease. She felt a lot less stressed compared to when she was either at school or in the machine shop.

Several times she passed hikers who would stare wide eyed at her- a black-haired kid, by herself, paddling down the river with one hand and munching on a cucumber with the other. She would smile and wave and they would continue like nothing had happened.

Leaning back, she began to ponder as she paddled. What was the meaning of all of this? This moon business, the mermaid chick, all these strange phenomena and unveiled powers... what could they mean?

Of course, she had read about the town legend when visiting a dusty old public library when she was younger. It talked about an ancient youkai and that the new age would begin when emissaries descended from the moon, determined to take the earth for themselves. Nine heroes were destine to defend against these emissaries. It was written as a fairy tale, not a prophecy.

Was she one of those nine? Then who were the other eight?

The pieces were beginning to fit together. They were forming a picture she didn't understand.

The sun was rapidly setting as she reached a wide point in the river, where ancient bamboo stalks spiraled hundreds of feet high on both sides, obscuring everything but a sliver of sky. Night began to fall as she could finally see her final destination and her ambassador.

A girl, perhaps no more than fifteen, sat on the edge of the dock described in the note. She had a blue and white sailor's uniform, and, just as described, short yellow locks done up in pigtails. Hitched on her belt was an extremely futuristic-looking gun.

She seemed slightly amused, and she had good reason to be. Who would have expected the kappa's arrival in a canoe, of all things? Nitori clambered onto the dock and bowed low to the girl, not forgetting her respect.

"Nitori Kawashiro" She answered to the unspoken question.

The sailor bowed low. She had bright gold eyes, and an even brighter smile.

"Chiyuri Kitashiwakara"

Small lanterns lit up the night, lining the row in neat pairs. The red flames seemed to burn dimly, but sufficiently enough. Past the first few lines of bamboo, however, the darkness seemed immaterial.

Chiyuri walked at a much faster pace than Nitori did, her long legs swinging, reaching great lengths without even trying. It was almost leaving the kappa out of breath just to catch up with her.

"So... lovely weather, huh?"

Chiyuri's tone was an awkward one as she attempted to start conversation between the two. It seemed like she had not heard about the shyness that Nitori sometimes exhibited. The mechanic continued to stare blankly ahead at the road, not fully aware of the world.

"We've got a shy one here, don't we~"

Chiyuri pulled Nitori into a one-armed embrace, crushing the girl against her ribcage.

"So you're the kiddo with the gauntlets every youkai's been talking about, huh? You should feel proud of yourself, taking out a tsukomogami and a mermaid at once"

"Uhh... Reisen helped"

Chiyuri's grin grew wider. "Hey, don't kid yourself like that. You should feel good about taking them down!"

Nitori just squeaked and looked away.

The silly grin disappeared from Chiyuri's face. She released Nitori from the bear-hug and looked down at the smaller, blue haired girl with concern.

"Look, I know we've never met, but if we want to get somewhere with this, you gotta stop with the shyness, okay?"

Nitori gave a sideways glance at the teen.

"...Sorry"

"S'no problem. Now, where were we? Oh, hey, I can see Eientei... and I THINK that's Tewi standing in the shadow over there..."

Chiyuri squinted at the figure in the dark. It seemed to be purposefully hidden in the shadows, as if it were waiting.

"Ch-Chiyuri... you've heard of those robbers that line the roads, right?"

"Hey, I don't think it's a big-"

Chiyuri was cut off mid-sentence as the figure lunged into the girl's chest. Now visible in the light, Nitori could see the all-too familiar red and white dress that her astronomy teacher was so fond of wearing...

Before she could get a better view, Nitori raised her teardrop into the sky, shouting the words that came from her heart.

"Border Treasure, cross the boundary!"

The pillar of light annihilated her once again, leaving her to drift in empty space for a few quick seconds, but as soon as it appeared, the pillar vanished.

"The trauma in the glittering depths! Marine Benefit!"

As confusing as the transformation had been the first time, the second time had not been as nearly confusing for Marine. What was confusing, however, was her astronomy teacher, with wolfish features, ready to rip out the heart of her newfound friend.

She activated her gauntlets, the machinery humming with energy.

"Cephalic Plates, bind the border!"

She began her attack directly afterwards, shells and fists flying in a furious rage towards the assaulter. The wolfish astronomer crashed into a bamboo stalk, slumping down, seeing stars.

Chiyuri looked stunned, her hands halfway towards her gun. Those gold eyes looked with a newfound respect for Marine.

"Actually... I think you're pretty good, kiddo"


	5. Arc 1 - Finale

_Thunk. Thunk. Thunk._

Kagerou's head bounced off each step of the grand staircase to Eientei as she was dragged up by her heels. The poor werewolf could do nothing but whimper in protest while she clocked her head on the stone steps every two seconds.

Chiyuri grumbled to herself as she dragged Kagerou behind her. She must have been suppressing it earlier, but now Nitori could hear the ever so faint trace of a British accent outlining her speech. The tone was dangerous, and Chiyuri was speaking of Kagerou like she was going to slice her into bits.

"Werewolves..."

Kagerou whimpered once again.

They ascended to the top of the stairs. Beyond the stone steps lied a wood-and-bamboo mansion, filling the massive clearing in the thickets of the bamboo. Several animals moved around the area- rabbits? It was hard to tell what they were from so far. Her astronomy teacher snarled upon seeing the small animals, and they all immediately fled, hiding behind the bamboo. Their tiny faces peeked out from behind the plant stalks.

Making haste, Chiyuri ran down the pathway, Kagerou's head hitting the stone over and over from the sheer force of Chiyuri's bounds. She might have not initially looked like it, but Chiyuri was incredibly strong.

Nitori lumbered behind the athletic girl, taking the scene in. The rumors of an abandon mansion in the middle of the thickets of bamboo... they were indeed true. High-schoolers had attempted to find the mansion for themselves over and over again, plunging in only to wander back out in a daze, as though they were lost.

Judging by the amount of rabbits, the 'abandon' statement certainly wasn't true. There was an immense amount of them, and, suspiciously, a large amount of mochi pots in the front yard. A soapbox stood in the middle of the pathway, accompied by a loudspeaker, suggesting something rather human lived here.

Rather rudely, Chiyuri leapt the steps, causing more pain for Kagerou, and burst through the front door.

The inside took Nitori rather off-guard. Cheery red-and-yellow wallpaper looked fresh and new, not something installed fifty years ago. Stray cups of tea and plates with crumbs were randomly placed on the table. Something human did live here. Perhaps a gang? What if she'd been lead into a trap?

As she rethought the situation, she was considerably powerful in Striker form, and should be able to at least fend for herself should the situation come to her being attacked.

Following the sailor from behind (there were no hopes of catching up to her, and she didn't want her toes bit at by her teacher) she slowly progressed through the mansion. Some doors remained open, showing ceilings only five feet high and tiny rooms to accommodate guests. Other rooms lead into storage, and one lead into a courtyard featuring several flowers and a grand cherry blossom tree, twenty feet high as the centerpiece.

It was after about five minutes of wandering the seemingly endless corridors when Nitori began to notice changes in the walls. The wood subtly became darker in shade and the walls more transparent, until the kappa was walking a futuristic-looking hallway with ebony floors and transparent walls, showing the earth, millions of miles away peacefully drifting in outer space. Stars lit up the cosmos and the dense pinpoints of light known as the Milky Way swept through the skies.

It was stunning. Nitori couldn't help but relocate her jaw several times after it hit the floor over and over upon seeing these new, fantastic things.

Her tiring walk finally came to an end when Chiyuri finally reached a door and unlocked it with a simple key, shoving her way inside. She could make out one sentence before she stumbled into the room herself.

"She's here."

* * *

It was the creepiest thing, knowing you were being waited upon by several people you had never met.

The only familiar person she saw was Reisen, patiently sitting in a chair. Other than that, everyone she saw were people she didn't know existed, much less wanted to see her. A young woman, perhaps eighteen, with ruby red hair sat at a chair in front of a rather out-of place computer. Her dress matched her hair and dark red eye color. In fact, the only thing that didn't match the red theme was the black cape.

Napping with her head in her lap, a girl of perhaps ten sat sleeping in another chair, with black hair and comical, fluffy white ears, looking much less real than Reisen's. Her dress was a light shade of pink, ornate enough to look nice without being over the top and a carrot charm hung around her neck, suspended by a silver chain.

The last girl (why were they all female? Nitori had never considered that before) was a tall albino, towering over everyone in the room. She wore an absurd combination of suspenders and a polo shirt, with her clothing plastered in what looked like Shinto amulets, while the same amulets kept her hair done in ribbons. She looked at Kagerou with a bored expression as Chiyuri heaved her on to the floor like a sack of potatoes.

"I thought we told you to stop bringing trash in here, Chi."

The albino softly joked. For someone so imposing, her tone was surprisingly quiet and subtle.

"Ah, well... she tried to rip out my heart while we came here. Figured she was in for a little punishment, huh? Plus, Nito-chan over here says it's her teacher."

"Nito-chan?"

Nitori's cheeks heated up. She looked down at the ground desperately, ignoring the various chuckles from the group and pretending to be fascinated with the carpet.

"It's cute, don'cha think~"

"Nitori, not Nito-chan."

Chiyuri slapped Nitori on the back a little too hard, causing Nitori to stand straight up once again, with her eyes comically widened to great lengths.

"Uh, I mean, Nito-chan is fine!"

"That's my girl."

Chiyuri chuckled before practically shoving the girl in front of her. Nitori wheeled her arms to attempt to get away and escape, but Chiyuri was having none of it, and her phenomenal strength was assisting her once again in this battle.

"So, why don't you introduce yourself?"

There was an awkward pause as everyone looked Nitori in the eye. All of them had red eyes, whether they be a shade of ruby, fire, or bright crimson.

"Uuuu... I'm... Nitori... Kawa...shiro..."

She earned another slap on the back from Chiyuri.

"C'mon, a little louder! We can't hear you."

"Nitori! My name is Nitori Kawashiro!"

She put on a rather forced smile, as the pain from Chiyuri's two slaps was enough. She looked everyone in the eye as well, and she soon felt herself subconsciously smiling rather than forcing it.

The redhead rose from the chair. She was as nearly as tall as the albino, and one might have expected someone with such great height to be clumsy, but this was not the case with her. In one swift motion, she introduced herself.

"Yumemi Okazaki. It is a pleasure to be partners, Miss Kawashiro."

Her dialect of Japanese seemed rather formal, and one much older people had a tendency to use, despite her apparent age of twenty. It had a foreign accent to it, much like Chiyuri. ...Russian? Transylvanian? Whatever it may be, it added a pleasant ring to her tone.

Reisen was the next one to speak up.

"Reisen Udongein Inaba, as I have already told you. Now that we have formal introductions..."

She stole a glance at the other black-haired girl next to her, and gave her a gentle bop on the head. The little girl yelped and sat up straight, blinking as she slowly took in her surroundings.

"Uhh... is it time to pound mochi already?"

"That's unbecoming of the leader of Inaba. Quit sleeping on the job, you silly thing."

"Leader of Inaba?"

Nitori quipped Reisen. The little black-haired bunny-girl smirked.

"Haven't you heard the legend of the White Rabbit? Jeez, folks are so uneducated these days."

A little steam came out of Nitori's ears.

"Okay... _'educate'_ me."

"About 2 million years ago, there was a smart, clever, kind,-"

"And narcissist."

"Shut up. Anyways, there was a rabbit who wanted to cross the sea. Unfortunately, the sea was filled with sharks. These sharks had the misfortune of never knowing how many of them there were, so the rabbit offered to count if they formed a line across the sea, right where the rabbit needed to go."

"I remember now. In the end, the rabbit got eaten by the sharks."

"Actually, no."

Nitori was just about to make a comeback before she took a good long look at the girl's ears. The revelation hit her hard.

The rabbits. The old style manor, the youkai, Reisen's comment, everything. This girl was implying the rabbit survived the attack. The only person who could know what happened in the end...

"I see, you get it now!"

She leaned back and smirked.

"And now, for the introduction, I am Tewi Inaba, leader of the Earth Rabbits, and the White Rabbit of Inaba herself"

"_Damn, _you're old."

The words left Nitori's mouth rather awkwardly. Everyone turned to look at her with surprise while Tewi sat blankly, choosing on whether to annihilate the human or befriend her.

"...Yea, I suppose that's true. The older, the wiser, huh?"

Tewi's own words were enough to get conversation running again. Finally, the albino stood up. She was tall enough to make everyone feel like mice, even Yumemi.

"Fujiwara no Mokou."

On that rather short note, Yumemi spun around to face the computer while Reisen spoke up once again.

"Now, as I have avoided giving you an explanation ever since I met you, and with what you did at the park, I say you certainly deserve one. However, it's going to be quite long, so if you could wait..."

With that, she turned to Yumemi.

"Fire up the computer."

"Aye."

Yumemi's hands were much too fast to make out what she was typing as her hands flew across the keyboard, activating the machinery as she hastily entered commands. The computer whirred to life in a matter of seconds.

For a minute, there was nothing but a login screen which Yumemi quickly surpassed, followed by a normal-looking desktop. Nitori blinked a couple of times. This isn't what she had been expecting at all.

Reisen caught Nitori's confused look and frowned.

"What's wrong?"

"Uhh... nothing... just thought it would be flashier."

Yumemi tutted from the far corner of the room as she opened Command Prompt and activated a text program.

"Not everything we have is super advanced... although this is just a normal PC for that matter. Some of our more sophisticated machines are behind the doors, simply for protection."

Nitori peeked behind the computer. Past the slightly elevated area of the floor, there seemed to be a communion area and several white doors, presumably where the computers were.

Yumemi finished fiddling with the keyboard and a long text file appeared, unable to be read from the far side of the room. However, its large, bolded title was more than enough to give a good idea on what Nitori was about to read.

**"The History of Gensokyo"**

* * *

"Tell me, kappa, have you ever heard of the tale of the Bamboo Cutter?"

Nitori flinched.

"...Kappa? Why does everyone call me that? Even the author does it."

The girl on the other side of the Fourth Wall coughed and looked away.

"We'll explain that later. But you are tampering with dangerous boundaries."

"S-sorry."

Even as the girl looked down with a hint of shame, she questioned why she even brought up the subject. (However, she didn't know it was because the author felt like being an ass-hat) Neverless, she continued to listen to Mokou's quiet speech.

"The bamboo cutter... found a child, lost in the thickets of bamboo. This child was... Kaguya-hime, princess of the moon"

Mokou grit her teeth upon the word 'Kaguya', but simply carried on before she could delve into her past hatred once again. Her voice began to rise in volume.

"I remember. Kaguya would task men with five trials if they wanted to marry her."

"Indeed. My own family suffered from that. My father divorced my mother and tried to gain the marriage of Kaguya. He dutifully hunted for the treasures, but he could not find a single one... because she already had them in her possession. My father, shamed..."

Nitori was silent. She didn't need words to know what happened to Mokou's father. Tears began to stream out of the poor girl's eyes, and Nitori would have gone right up to hug her if it didn't seem horribly inappropriate.

Suddenly, the girl doubled over, wheezing and coughing. As if on cue, Reisen shot straight to her feet and reached for a small container on the table. Before it was snatched up by the lepus, Nitori could make out the distinct shape of an inhaler.

_Mokou is..._

"Mokou! Are you okay?"

Mokou simply wheezed in response and desperately grabbed at the inhaler Reisen held out, before taking several deep breaths through the medication. Her face was slightly red from wheezing like a weasel and crying. She put a hand to her chest as she set the inhaler on the table.

"Yup. I'll be fine."

Even with the asthma attack, Mokou's tone was still unwavering, but Yumemi raised an eyebrow at the slightly sickly girl, doubting on whether or not to continue her monologue.

"Mokou, don't do this to yourself. Go on and get a drink of water, I'll take it from here."

When Mokou didn't protest, Yumemi continued where the asthmatic girl had left off.

"Anyways... just like the legend of the White Rabbit, the tale of the Bamboo Cutter is true as well... but it continued from there. Humans and youkai had been living on co-existance... until the current ruler, Kaguya, was overthrown by their own students, the Watatsuki sisters. A huge outbreak began until a phenomenally power youkai, Yukari Yakumo..."

Nitori shuddered. Yukari Yakumo was the legend of the town, a woman who created the city of Border in a day and apparently chose the fate of the town, as well as every little thing that happened. Her ancestors still ran the town, the current leader being Ran Yakumo XVII.

"Yukari apparently stopped the fighting instantly, and created a land called Gensokyo, where she and almost all the remaining youkai hid. They are still there today, protecting Yukari from harm."

"However, even as Yukari slumbers she meddles with time and space, bringing in people for the battle that will determine not only the fate of Gensokyo, but the fate of the world itself."

The room was silent for a moment, the only noise the whirring of machinery. When Yumemi began again, her voice had quieted to a soft tone like Mokou's.

"And that's why I am here today. I am not from this time, not even this place. My home had the force of gravity united with the other forces in the Theory of Relativity. I was a professor at a prestigious university, and Chiyuri was my assistant, and we worked together to study relative physics."

Chiyuri had come to stand by Yumemi by this point, and was smiling at her friend and former boss for encouragement.

"...That's when we found a new force, one which did not obey the laws of the universe, not powered by subatomic particles or waves, but by belief... this was magic.

Of course, the instant I began to introduce it to others I was kicked out of the university, and sent to an asylum. My first night there, Yukari warped me away to a different universe, which happened to be yours. Tewi had me install a few computers that were brought with us, and we began our search for the warriors that Yukari spoke of... with no luck until last night, when we found a signal."

"Which was..."

"My, I was sure you would have figured it out by now. You _are_ the signal."

* * *

Finally, Yumemi offered Nitori a chair and the ability to read the text running through the screen.

"Take a look at yourself, Nitori. Everything makes sense now, huh?"

She gapsed.

On the document was written things she didn't know about herself till she began to read it. Basic information, like her birthdate, record, status, and description were only a small part of the article.

A paragraph was devoted to her family tree, relatives she had never heard of listed generations back. A small history was the subject of yet another paragraph. But the thing that caught her eye the most was the list of her inherited powers.

'The family of the Kappa are quite a influential group, having close ties with Tengu and Oni. Members, fully youkai or partially, often have the ability of manipulating water to their will, and are highly skilled at building and utilizing tools and machines. Compared to other races of youkai, they are often more shy and rather peaceful, but their strong beliefs often serve as a barrier of interaction, as well as their highly specific interests, leading conversations to be one sided, one reason why they separate themselves from others. Human doctors will often diagnose members of this family with Asperger's Syndrome.'

It did seem right. Nitori had never been good with people, but close friends like Wriggle, a good listener, were exceptions. The abilities seemed to fit as well, as Nitori had always possessed a close affinity with water and machinery, which had been especially prominent as Marine Benefit. However, there was something still confusing her.

"Yumemi... what's this bit about 'Fully Youkai or partially?'"

"Ah... here we are. Listen carefully"

Yumemi pulled up another chair for herself.

"Youkai would leave the mountain in search for a human-like life. Often, these youkai would fall in love with humans and..."

"I get it, I get it! And then their children wouldn't be either human or youkai, but a cross instead, right?"

"Exactly. In fact, many residents of Border, including your friend Kagerou over there, are like this. To be specific, Kagerou's ancestors long ago were part wolf, part human, but not everyone received the power to become a wolf under the full moon. Kagerou only partially inherited it, which explains the partial transformation"

Even the tied-up wolf was listening to what Yumemi had to say, only speaking up after a moment.

"And you know this how?..."

"We have records of every citizen in Border. It is best to keep an eye on everybody to know what threat they would posses should the chance ever happen"

"I kept the secret so well, though... Nitori was the first person to find out"

"We knew from your ancestry, although you did a fine job hiding whether or not you inherited the power."

Yumemi promptly turned to the computer.

"And when I say, 'nearly everyone in Border', I also mean you, Nitori."

The kappa glanced at the paragraph once more.

"So this means... I'm not really human, but I'm not really a kappa either?"

"Precisely."

"So what does that make me?"

"There isn't really a special term for it, but I suppose that 'quasi-kappa' would work"

Nitori thought the information she had received once more. She wasn't really human, there were a bunch of youkai camped out somehow _inside _the mountain, every legend about the town was completely true, and her teacher was a werewolf. But there was still one VERY large detail Yumemi had left out of her monologue...

"Alright, I buy it, but there's still something you've left out."

Nitori rummaged around in her pocket, pulling out her teardrop crystal.

"What is this, and why do I suddenly become a magical girl in its presence?"

Yumemi looked rather unfazed as she blinked at the gem.

"Oh, that? That's a Border Treasure- Yukari left them a long time ago so that she'd have some warriors to fight off the Lunarians. When all nine have gathered, she'll be able to come back and kick Yorihime's ass. Basically, the magic powers you posses not only let you keep the Lunarians at bay, but protect the Soul Treasures that everyone has- a physical representation of their soul. Lunarians like taking them and using a powerful magical item called Dust, which will make them tap into their inner magic and use their conflicting emotions to lock them into a state of negative emotion, where they can then manipulate them into fighting. Our job is to make sure that they regain positive after this happens, and advert it as much as possible"

"Oh."

The conversation seemed to be rather one-sided.

"Of course, the Border Treasures also represent the aspects of the universe. This one's shape, color, and powers indicate it's the Water one, which is supposed to be the first as well, which means... hmm, that's interesting."

"Stop avoiding my questions!"

"Don't worry, you'll learn in good time. After all, I can't give the same monologue over and over, right? I'll give you a more extensive view on that when we've got more people to tell it to."

Nitori grumbled a bit. Yumemi laughed at her frustrated expression and went to join the others in the sitting-room, where they were drinking tea and having a good evening. It seems with her abrupt departure, Yumemi was implicating 'Now go consider what I just told you'

"Hey, can you help me here?"

Kagerou held up her wrists, bound together.

"This rope seems to be youkai-proof rope. I don't think chewing through it will produce satisfactory results."

Nitori began to work on the ropes with a pair of scissors.

"So, why did you try to kill Chiyuri?"

_Snip._

"I go slightly crazy during the full moon... I can usually keep it under control, but today the power of the moon wouldn't go away. I didn't get to my house in time..."

_Snip._

"What does this mean?"

"Certainly nothing good. I think I shall spend the night here."

_Snip._

"Will you be back to teach astrology tomorrow? Marisa is heartbroken at the fact that you've been gone and Sekibanki has no clue on how to teach astrology."

"Oh, Seki, huh? No wonder- I thought her head might come off her shoulders when I asked her to substitute"

_Snip._

"..."

"I meant that in more than one sense."

_Snip._

"Are you implying that she's a Dullahan?"

"Yes."

_Snip._

_I haven't seen one speck of the youkai's world..._

_..._

_Seems like even when I try, my writing doesn't even compare to people like, say, Wolfsbane or Roukanken. Maybe I'm just not good at writing?_

_Hopefully, you enjoyed this re-write. I wish for people to enjoy my stories, as it makes me feel genuinely pleased when people show appreciation for something as terribly written as this._

_-Kyouko Kasodani/Scout_


End file.
